NTR invests in waste service

NTR Plc has bought a majority stake Materials Recovery in the UK.

It offers a one-stop integrated waste management and recycling service for its major client base, which includes BT Retail, Powerhouse Stores, Habitat, Staples and Wyevale Garden Centres.

NTR has paid out €4 million to secure its 71.4% stake in Materials Recovery Limited.

Commenting after the group’s annual general meeting in Dublin Jim Barry, chief executive, NTR said the company was delighted to have been provided with the opportunity to invest in Materials Recovery.

“We believe that EU policy will drive fundamental change in the waste sector in the UK as it has in Ireland.”

Founded in 2001 the UK operation was set up by Ian Wakelin, who became managing director and a number of other key individuals with a lot of experience in this developing sector.

Mr Wakelin was formerly managing director of UK Waste, a subsidiary of Waste Management International which has a solid reputation in the sector.

Materials Recovery “is an innovative new model for waste management and recycling”, said Mr Wakelin.

We have in NTR “an investor of scale and credibility, with experience and knowledge in waste, that will enable Materials Recovery to exploit the significant opportunity in the UK waste market.”

Within NTR, Greenstar is a major waste management operation established by the group in 1999 as a joint venture between NTR and Celtic Utilities which is now 88.5% owned by NTR.

The company has extensive operations throughout Ireland in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Meath Wicklow, Waterford and Galway.